


Realization of Feelings

by GlowingMechanicalHeart



Series: Fictober20 [18]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: F/M, Matchmaking, Modern Westeros, Secret love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:06:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27090163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlowingMechanicalHeart/pseuds/GlowingMechanicalHeart
Summary: “You don’t see it? Ned’s in love with you.”
Relationships: Arya Stark & Sansa Stark, Edric "Ned" Dayne/Sansa Stark
Series: Fictober20 [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1974964
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17
Collections: Fictober20





	Realization of Feelings

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Fictober-Event, prompt: #18. “you don’t see it?”

“You don’t see it? Ned’s in love with you.”

It had been the comment that Arya made, the one that started the shift. “What do you mean?” Sansa had asked her sister.

Arya had rolled her eyes, “I meant what I said, Ned’s in love with you. He’s been for a while. And yes, even when you were dating… the brat.”

Arya never spoke Joffrey’s name, instead, she used every insult possible. Brat was one of the milder ones. Sansa frowned, “I had no idea.”

Arya shrugged. “You can be a bit dense. But Ned’s pinning somewhat hard. So, be nice to him. Not saying you should date him – but you really should, he’s better than all of your exes rolled together. Just, be careful with him. He’s one of the good ones.”

Sansa had said nothing, because Arya left her alone after saying that. That’s when she began to look back into her friendship with Ned. The first event that came up, was the Ren Fair. Ned had been the one who volunteered to accompany her, he’d even dressed up as a knight. He had been handsome in leather and chain mail.

Another time, when she was still with Joffrey, Cersei had kept her in the office for over time and she had not had been able to grab some lunch. Ned, who at the time was her neighbor greeted her with a warm plate of a pork chop, smashed potatoes and greens in a lemony sauce. She’d devoured the food in almost a go.

One time, when she’s needed tooth surgery, he’d showed up with her favorite ice cream afterwards. 

Ned had been the one to drive her to the vet when Lady had gotten sick. He’d also been the one who gifted her a new sewing kit after hers had been lost, he’d also slipped some chocolates into her ‘secret’ stash for that time of the month and when dealing with stressing situations. It had been Ned who gave her blue roses for her birthday. He’d also been the one who gifted her with a book on writing when she had mentioned starting her own romance novel. He’d been the one to accompany her to file the restraining order against Petyr Baelish, he’d even gotten her pepper spray.

Sansa’s eyes grew wide. Oh. Oh.

How could she not see that Ned loved her? Sansa had no excuse, but then again, perhaps it was her weariness after Joffrey, after Harry and that creep Petyr. He had been the boy she’d always wanted and she had been blind to see it. He was what her father wanted, strong, gentle and brave. Her heart was in her throat, she balled her fists in frustration. Poor Ned, he’d probably been waiting for her to notice him… but no. She knew that he wasn’t like that. He’d do nice things for her, even if he wasn’t in love with her, after all, he treated Arya like a sister and never demanded anything from her. Edric Dayne was a good man.

Now, what did she feel for him? In all honesty, Sansa could say that she did care for him. But she was unsure if she loved him. But, a tiny part of her that had awoken with her thoughts and Arya’s crash course on reality, said that she could love him.

Sansa knew that she could, Ned was easy to love.

But she wasn’t going to rush herself. Sansa gave herself two weeks to think it over. She would still treat Ned the same, she would go on as if nothing had changed and see where she landed at the end of those two weeks. 

It was the longest two weeks of her life, Sansa had begun observing Ned. He was tall – taller than her, blond and his eyes were the darkest indigo, golden skin and strong chin, slightly pointed nose and elegant eyebrows. His eyes also sparkled when he laughed, and there she also spotted a soft and tender look in them when he looked at her. How could she had missed that? He was lean, but there were muscles there, she knew. His lips looked soft and kissable. She had to drink something for the sudden dryness of her throat at the thought of kissing him, that and find an excuse for the sudden flush of her skin.

In the end, she decided that she wanted to give them a chance. Sansa decided to invite him for coffee at the café their circle of friends tended to visit. And so, it was there that she found herself sitting opposite Ned.

“I wanted to ask you something,” Sansa began, fiddling with a pen. She had been writing before he arrived. “It’s a bit hard for me to ask, but I realized that I wanted to.”

Ned’s eyes were soft. “You know you can ask me anything.”

Sansa shifted a bit, her pen still swirling in her hands. She was nervous, she usually wasn’t the one who asked men on dates. But she figured that Ned respected the fact that she just dealt with Petyr’s stalking. And perhaps because he thought that she would turn him down. “I wanted to ask you out, as in, a date.”

Ned blinked, tilted his head to one side and observed her for a few moments. Then, a tentative smile grew on his lips. “You mean that?”

“I wouldn’t be asking,” Sansa says primly. “If I didn’t mean it. I don’t play with people.”

“No, you don’t.” Ned’s voice was soft. He then reached a hand and took one of her in it, they both stared at their joint hands. He smiled again. “And yes, I’d like going on a date with you miss Stark.”

Sansa smiled, feeling calmer and letting relief wash over her. Her heart still beat too loud, but she could deal with that. Ned had said yes, her nerves didn’t matter. And no, she wasn’t afraid of messing up their friendship, because Ned was an adult who simply wouldn’t let it. “I’m glad then, I realized that I like you and, I wanted to try and explore the feelings that are growing.”

Ned used his hand to bring hers to his lips, where he placed a gentle kiss. “Then my lady,” he said quite gallantly. “I shall endeavor not to disappoint.”

“Oh Ned,” Sansa’s smile grew. “You never could.”

They walked out of the café holding hands. For Sansa, it felt right. Like she had finally found her Prince Charming. If someone would say anything about the comparison, well, they could hardly blame her, Ned was a champion fencer. 


End file.
